When the Past Comes Knocking
by amandastherealdeal
Summary: What would happen if Daniel was brought back instead of Marian? Disclaimer- I don't own OUAT


**Hi Guys, so this is my first fanfiction, I would love reviews! I'm interested in doing prompts so if you have any tell me!**

**This is supposed to be a one shot about what would have happened if Daniel were brought back instead of Marian. **

** I hope you like it :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT**

* * *

><p>"Regina, can I talk to you?" Emma asks Regina tentatively, dragging her away from the table that robin and Roland were now sitting at.<p>

"What's wrong?" Regina asks, noticing the worried look on Emma's face.

"Oh no, nothing's wrong, it's just uhh- I need to tell you... that something happened when um, me and Hook went back in time..." Regina could tell she was trying to tell her something important.

"Emma?" Regina raised her eyebrows in question.

"I'm sorry!" Emma blurted. Regina looked at her confused.

" I'm so sorry!" Regina furrowed her brow when Emma kept apologizing. Regina looked over at the door that Emma seemed to recently take an interest in when the bell rang, signaling that someone had entered the diner. Regina couldn't believe what she saw. Her jaw dropped instantly, her eyes filling with tears. Old memories came rushing back.

_This can't be possible. _She thought.

Regina alternated glances from Robin to Roland and them back to _him_, then finally back at Emma. Emma could see the unshed tears in her eyes. The tears that had welled up in her eyes that had now started to run down her cheeks. Regina looked over at Robin who had noticed the tears immediately and furrowed his brow in concern.

She shifted her gaze back to _him_, and Robin's eyes followed. He imagined from Regina's reaction to the man that it was _him_. The young man who looked exactly the same as the day he died, looked over to Regina. His face instantly changing into one of pure happiness when he saw Regina.

"Daniel" she breathed out, saying it out loud for the first time since seeing him enter the diner. Her tears were now flowing freely down her face.

"Regina!" he shouted running up to her and wrapping his arms around her waist, picking her up and spinning her in a circle.

Regina let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. He set her back down next to Emma who looked like she had no idea what to do. Regina looked over to Emma,

"Regina..." she said, swallowing in guilt as Regina continued to look at her with a look of despair.

"Hey Emma do you mind taking Neal..." Snow started to ask as she came over with a squirming baby Neal in her arms, but trailed off as her eyes widened at the sight of Daniel.

"Yes!" Emma all but ran out of the conversation they were in with her baby brother.

"Daniel?" Snow asked in shock.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" Daniel asked looking at Snow, who noticed Regina's uneasiness.

" I'm Snow, Snow White."

"I'm sorry I don't understand " he said looking confused, he looked at Regina for help.

"Emma brought you back from the past which now means you are in the future, so I'm all grown up." Snow clarified, figuring that Daniel must be the person that Emma was talking about when she said that she had brought someone back from the past.

"Oh, that's right. Emma said something about that. I guess it will take some getting used to" he chuckled, looking over at Regina. He noticed that she didn't look very happy. She appeared as if she was fighting an internal war. He put his right hand on her left cheek.

"Regina is everything alright? Where is your father? He always seems to be able to cheer you up when I can't" he said stroking her cheek with a small smile.

"Yes, I'm fine" she said moving her face away while taking his hand and pulling it back by his side, as kindly as she could without making him think she was rejecting him.

"Alright, where is he though. I don't see him here, I imagine these are all of your friends and family."

"Daniel, Henry died a while ago. As did many people you may know." Snow said trying to lay the burden off of Regina. Regina looked over at Robin who was watching them closely, Regina can see the fear in his eyes as well as longing, he doesn't want to lose her.

Roland sees her looking over at them and jumps off his father's lap and runs into her arms. Regina picks him up with ease and places him on her hip with a small smile on her face, just seeing him and his infectious smile brightens her mood instantly.

"Gina!" he shouts next to her ear causing her to chuckle and smile even brighter.

"Hello Roland"

"Tonight can Henry stay with us? He promised to read from his stowy book!"He asks her excitedly.

"Yes of course sweetie, why don't you go tell Henry."

"Okay!" He hopped down from her arms and ran over to another table where Henry was sitting.

Daniel chuckled, "Who was that cute little boy? Did he mention Henry? I thought Snow said he passed away?"

"Regina why don't you take Daniel outside and tell him what he has missed over the past few years" Snow suggested patting her right shoulder, hoping to offer a little comfort. Regina nodded and leaned in close to Snow so only she could hear.

"Do you mind telling Robin about Daniel, just... just make sure he knows that I'm not leaving that I'm just talking to Daniel. He just looks so sad..." Snow cut her off by throwing her arms around Regina.

"Of course , anything Regina" Snow smiles as she walks over and sits across from Robin. Regina looks over into his eyes, then takes Daniel's hand within her own and leads him outside. She sits on the step leading up into 'Granny's' and he sits down next to her.

"Regina what's wrong? You're not yourself..."

"Daniel, a lot has happened since that day at the stables. My parents are dead because of me. After my mother killed you, I lost all hope, faith, happiness, and love" she chuckled looking up at the sky wising her tears wouldn't drop again.

"I had my love for a little while longer after your death but I just felt so lost and my mother blinded me with the will for power and that incessant saying 'love is weakness'. I found myself numb and I turned to anger to feel something and I let it consume me.

"After you died my mother arranged for my marriage to Leopold. As every day passed getting closer to the wedding, my hate only grew stronger for Snow. The night before my wedding I asked Rumpelstiltskin for help and he gave me a magic mirror that would take my mother to another realm. I pushed her in, after that I succumbed into the darkness of anger and it started to consume all of me. I learned dark magic from Rumpelstiltskin. I became a killer without mercy after I killed the King.

"I let my vengeance consume me, and I started to hunt Snow. I thought that I couldn't have my happy ending without killing Snow. Rumpelstiltskin told me about a curse where I could enact my vengeance, which I later cast. But all magic comes with a price. In order to cast the curse I had to kill the thing I love most. Unfortunately, that was my father. It left a hole in my heart.

"The curse took us here and I found that I was sad. I had revenge but it didn't make me as happy as I thought. So I adopted a child to fill the hole in my heart. I named him Henry, after my father. That's who Roland was talking about. Henry means everything to me.

" As Henry became older he got a storybook that led him to believe I cast a curse. He found his birth mother and brought her here to Storybrooke. He is a very smart boy, he figured it all out and Emma eventually broke the curse.

"Many different events happened after that, but they're not that important. I should tell you that before I let the anger consume me in the Enchanted Forest a fairy found me and told me that I could have a second chance at a happy ending. She led me to a tavern that I was supposed to go in and meet my soul mate. He has a lion tattoo on his right wrist. Though back then, I couldn't go in and meet him. I met him a few weeks ago. And I... fell for him. His son is Roland, who was the little boy in my arms earlier.

"I had a half sister named Zelena who wanted nothing more than to take everything from me so that she could grow up with our mother. She achieved in making a time travel spell before she died. That is where Hook and Emma fell through and how they brought you back."

He nodded in understanding, though it was a lot of information to take in he only had one question that seemed to matter, "Are you happy... with him?" He asked. She had tears rolling down her cheek and smiled at him

"I think I love him, Daniel" She looked him in the eyes, " I'm so sorry Daniel" he pulled her into a hug and let her cry into his chest while he stroked her hair.

" Shh... Shh... It's ok Regina. You moved on, I told you to love again. You're allowed to be happy. I love you, I will always love you. All that I want is for you to be happy."

"But what about you?" She asks between sobs.

"Don't worry about me" he took her face into his hands

"It's ok to be happy" he leaned his forehead against hers.

" If I interpreted your brief recap of the past decade," they chuckled together "you have a family in there waiting for you" he gave Regina a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"Be happy Regina, I'll be fine." Robin came out of the diner noticing Regina's tear stained cheeks. Regina smiled over at him. They both stood.

"Robin this is Daniel, Daniel this is Robin"

"Nice to meet you" Daniel says shaking Robin's hand.

"Likewise" Robin replies nodding his head towards Daniel.

Daniel sighs, briefly looking at Regina then turning his gaze back towards Robin "take care of her," Daniel says taking her hand and holding it.

"I will"

"Goodbye my love" Daniel says as he looks at me one last time before heading out into the night. Robin enveloped her into a hug.

"I love you too" Robin says. Regina imagines that he had heard some of the conversation including her confession. She pulled out of the hug and kissed him, leaning her forehead against his. Roland and Henry came out of the diner, Robin picked up Roland and placed him on his hip. Regina could tell Roland was tired because he immediately laid his head down on Robin's shoulder. Henry came up to them and hugged Regina.

"I'm proud of you Mom" he said smiling up at Regina.

" I love you" Regina said looking down at Henry, then back up towards Robin and Roland, "all of you."


End file.
